Yale, Brown & Dartmouth Join Growing List of Colleges Requiring SAT

Yale University, Brown University, and Dartmouth College all recently announced that, going forward, they will require standardized test scores of all applicants. These Ivy League institutions are joining a growing number of colleges that are turning away from the “test optional” policy adopted during Covid to keep their application numbers high.

 

Other colleges and universities, popular with New Jersey students, that require test scores include Georgetown University, Purdue University, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, University of Florida, Florida State, MIT, and the U.S. Naval, Air Force, and Military academies.

 

Colleges that are currently “test optional” are heavily utilizing submitted SAT scores in the admissions process and the allotment of scholarship funds. Students without SAT scores are required, prior to the start of freshman year, to take placement tests at the college they will be attending. If they do not score high enough on any of these tests (typically required in English and Math), they are placed in “remedial” courses which require full tuition but award no college credits.

In announcing its decision, Dartmouth referred to a study finding that test scores are a better indicator of how well students will likely perform in college than are high school grades, student essays, and teacher recommendations.

 

SAT and ACT test scores are the single greatest predictor of a student’s GPA in college, according to research reported by the N.Y. Times. High school students can utilize SAT scores to their advantage by raising their standing among peers who are frequently vying for admittance to the same colleges. Even “average” students are finding that SAT scores can help compensate for a lower GPA and lack of AP courses.   

 

Researchers analyzed test scores of Dartmouth applicants who had not submitted SAT scores and concluded that many students who were denied admission had made a strategic mistake and likely would have been admitted if they had submitted their test scores. (Colleges can see even unsubmitted test scores after the admissions process is completed.) Without standardized test scores, admissions officers often struggle to find evidence that a student is academically prepared to succeed in their challenging college environment.   

 

Colleges also realize that their original reason for adopting a test optional policy – the fact that many tests were cancelled during Covid -- is no longer valid. Current students who are not submitting SAT scores either did not bother to prepare and take the test or did not perform well enough (in their eyes) to submit scores to colleges. 

 

A recent N.Y. Times headline read, “A Top College Reinstates the SAT. Why other schools may follow Dartmouth’s lead.” We’re likely to see the standardized test requirement reinstated among the next tier of colleges shortly.  

 

Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT^® preparation & private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362